HI i am just wondering if anyone besides my self had worked on getting a plant to grow from the seed it self? another name for them are (dwarf citrus trees ) and if there is maybe you could pass some ideas over to me i have two orange plants about 3 inches tall right now i have got plans for trying other seeds from other plants as well THANKS hope to here from some one on this

Hi Larry,
Use the search function at the top of the page-- type in " from seed" -- click the button "search for all terms" --then submit-- you will get many post on growing from seed.

You may want to limit the search further to the types of citrus you are interested in such as "orange from seed"

Yes indeed Larry,
The small limes, Mexican or Key, grow very fast from seed. I have one seedling that is one year old, about 18 inches tall already!

Some citrus do not grow true from seed- the baby will be different from the parent, but thats how some great varieties were discovered.

Actually growing a seed doesnt make it a dwarf, you can keep it smaller by keeping it in a pot, but you have to graft onto dwarfing rootstock to make it dwarfed.


good luck!

I have three Key limes in pots. I grew them from seed two years ago & they are producing excellent limes this whole summer. They are about 4 ft tall. I have another from the same batch that I planted in the ground. It flowered but did not hold any fruit, but is 9 ft tall. I'll try to post some pics later today.

A little guide to fruit from seed. Depending on your conditions times will vary. On a side note, I have never seen a Grapefruit from seed fruit in a container.

Procimequat = 1 year
Key limes = 2-3 years
Lemons = 3-5 years
Orange / Mandarin = 5-7 years
Grapefruit = 10-15 years

I have a lot of seedlings that I started. austrailan sweet orange, key limes, lemons, palestine sweet lime, a couple kinda of tangerines... did try grapefruit, but I did throw them away as I dont have enough room for fruiting trees, I dont need to fill up my house with non fruiting trees!

I reall enjoy growing from seed, its all fun watching them grow, knowing eventually you just might get fruit... from the first stage... till te end stage. Sure wish I could grow them outside, that would be the coolest thing. My goal once I purchase a home, I plan to try growing in ground with a greenhouse that I can take apart easy in summer... but theres a lot I'll have to figure out for that. we get mild winters but the ground does freeze deep... so lots to worry about

Laaz, the grapefruit you have does flower however right? I have a tiny guy that is doing super well. I knew it was highly improbable to get fruit but I did think that I could enjoy it as a aromatic flowering tree inside. If they do flower, how do they smell? I only know the odours of cal and meyer. I figured the aroma must be similar.

Ecomtl I have 4 seedling grapefruit that are 2 years old. They vary in size between 7-8 feet. No they do not flower. It will be many years before they flower. I have grafted Duncan & Ruby both of which have nice fruit on them.

Do you think yours are too young yet to flower? Maybe in it's third or fourth year? It's a nice looking seedling, so I guess it will make a decent house plant at least

Grapefruit on average take 10-15 to fruit from seed with the best possible conditions. Grown in a pot up north, I would say you will never have it flower or fruit.

Theoretically, you can get fruit on northern containerized grapefruit trees grown from seed. Realistically, I believe Laaz is certainly correct. Myself, I have never seen, or heard of, a seedling grapefruit tree that was grown up north in a container that was started from seed and lived outside in the summer and housed all winter ever get any fruit. Never. - Millet

Good news! The friend that gave me the seedling has a tree that is 6 feet tall, is two years old, and it flowered only once, in it's first year. No fruit of course, to be expected, but there were flowers once!